Environmental Review Technical Support to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Introduction

THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) is issuing this Sources Sought Synopsis as a means of conducting market research or as a market survey to determine the availability of potential qualified vendors with the technical capability to provide all management, supervision, administration, and labor for the “Environmental Review Technical Support to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.” The activities are implementing the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Specific activities include development of environmental assessments and supporting activities, development of environmental impact statements and supporting activities, and support of NRC staff with consultation activities. Services are to be provided to the NRC in Rockville, Maryland. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541620, Environmental Consulting Services.

Objective and Scope of Work Summary

Under NEPA, the NRC is required to perform evaluations of environmental effects of actions that it performs under its regulatory authority. The scope of the work requested is to provide technical assistance including technical review, coordination and editing for all phases of the review that will conclude with the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) or an environmental assessment (EA) that the NRC will use to make licensing decisions. Licensing activities will be within the nuclear materials sector and will include applications for new facilities, renewals, and license amendments. These actions will be pursuant to 10 CFR Parts 40, 70, 72, and 51. Additional activities are related to consultation under the Endangered Species Act and National Historic Preservation Act. The scope includes supporting NRC staff in the environmental portion of the required mandatory hearings and possibly contested hearings.  

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME.  This request for sources and vendor information does not constitute a request for proposal; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. 

Required Capabilities

• The contractor must be able to provide a complete team of staff that has accrued knowledge and experience and a combination of specific technical disciplines in NEPA policy, law, and regulations.
• The contractor must be able to support NRC reviewing application documents for a variety of nuclear material projects.
• The contractor must also have previous experience with application of NEPA regulations at regulatory agencies and applying the requirements to licensing actions/reviews.
• The contractor should have experience presenting technical information as it relates to the analysis at public meetings and providing written and oral testimony at adjudicatory hearings for an adjudicatory hearing on environmental issues.
• The contractor must be able to meet new timeliness expectations and requirements for NEPA projects as this is a high priority for the agency. Subcontracting multiple technical disciplines would be a considerable risk and would impact the timeline so any subcontracting should be limited to less than 20 percent of the overall effort.
• The contractor must be able to supply experienced staff who possess project management skills and can cover the multiple key technical disciplines in-house as they relate to nuclear material facilities and have the necessary related accrued knowledge to successfully perform the required tasks. Project management and key technical staff would have ideally a minimum of 5 years of technical experience and more for senior staff. Key technical disciplines include:

                    ▪ Land Use

                    ▪ Transportation

                    ▪ Geology/seismology, minerals and soils

                    ▪ Water resources (groundwater and surface water)

                    ▪ Ecological resources

                    ▪ Noise

                    ▪ Historic and cultural resources

                    ▪ Visual and scenic resources

                    ▪ Socioeconomics

                    ▪ Public and occupational health (non-radiological and radiological), accidents

                    ▪ Waste management

                    ▪ Environmental justice

                    ▪ Cumulative impacts assessment

                    ▪ Mitigation measures

                    ▪ Environmental measurements and monitoring

                    ▪ Adjudicatory support

The purpose of this announcement is to provide potential sources the opportunity to submit information regarding their capabilities to perform work for the NRC free of conflict of interest (COI).  For information on NRC COI regulations, visit NRC Acquisition Regulation Subpart 2009.5 (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting/48cfr-ch20.html).

All interested parties, including all categories of small businesses (small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, 8(a) firms, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses) are invited to submit a response.  The capabilities package submitted by a vendor should demonstrate the firm's ability, capability, and responsibility to perform the principal components of work listed below.  The package should also include past performance/experience regarding projects of similar scope listing the project title, general description, the dollar value of the contract, and name of the company, agency, or government entity for which the work was performed.

Organizations responding to this market survey should keep in mind that only focused and pertinent information is requested.  If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.  Submission of additional materials such as glossy brochures or videos is discouraged.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

If your organization has the capability and capacity to perform, as a prime contractor, one or more of the services described in this notice, then please respond to this notice and provide written responses to the following information.  Please do not include any proprietary or otherwise sensitive information in the response, and do not submit a proposal.  Proposals submitted in response to this notice will not be considered.

1. Organization name, address, emails address, Web site address and telephone number.
2. What size is your organization with respect to NAICS code identified in this notice (i.e., "small" or "other than small")? If your organization is a small business under the aforementioned NAICS code, what type of small business (i.e., small disadvantaged business, woman-owned small business, economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, 8(a), or HUBZone small business)? Specify all that apply.
3. Although no geographic restriction is anticipated, if responding organizations are located outside the Washington Metropolitan area (Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia), indicate how the organization would coordinate with the NRC program office located in Rockville, Maryland to provide the support services.
4. Separately and distinctly describe which of the required capabilities listed above that your organization possesses and indicate your organization's role (prime contractor, first tier subcontractor, and/or supplier) in related contracts.  Please also provide the contract number, contract type, customer name, address and point of contact phone number and email address, contract value, thorough description of supplies and services included in the scope of that contract, indication of how they differ from the required capabilities described in this notice, period of performance (for services) or delivery date (for products), and any other relevant information.
5. For Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) product offerings relevant to this requirement provide completed Voluntary Product Accessibility templates or other documentation that addresses compliance with the applicable standards (add website link) for those products.  For any federal customers that your agency has provided information technology services within the required capabilities areas, indicate how your company complies with applicable Section 508 standards.
6. Indicate whether your organization offers any of the required capabilities described in this notice on one or more of your company's own Federal Government contracts (i.e., GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract or Government wide Acquisition Contracts) that the NRC could order from and, if so, which services are offered.  Also, provide the contract number(s) and indicate what is currently available for ordering from each of those contract(s).
7. Provide a standard, non-proprietary commercial price list or similar standard non-proprietary commercial pricing information for how your company sells, as a prime contractor, required capabilities described in this notice that your organization has experience providing.  Also, indicate what is included in that pricing.
8. Is your organization currently performing or have in the past performed same or similar services as those listed above for any of the licensees regulated by the NRC? If so, which licensees? See http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing.html for more information on NRC licensing.
9. Has your organization previously faced organizational conflict of interest issues with NRC? If so, what were they and how were they mitigated or resolved?

Interested organizations responding to this Sources Sought Synopsis are encouraged to structure capability statements in the order of the area of consideration noted above.  All capability statements sent in response to this notice must be submitted electronically, via e-mail, to Aracelis Pérez-Ortiz, at Aracelis.Perez-Ortiz@nrc.gov, either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), within 15 calendar days from the date of publication of this notice. The subject line of the transmittal email must reference the notice ID number NRC-NMSS-08102026-JC.

DISCLAIMER AND NOTES:  Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s potential capability and capacity to perform the subject work.  Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.  After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in SAM.gov.  However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.